Jonathan absent at Sanusi’s coronation

 President Goodluck Jonathan

The Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, on Saturday presented the staff of office to the 14th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II.

The News Agency of Nigeria report that among dignitaries who attended the ceremony were the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III and the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Umar El-kanemi.

Others were Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, Gen. Yakubu Gowon and Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

Also in attendance were the governors of Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara, Yobe, Niger, Edo, Kwara and Borno, members of the diplomatic corps and members of the business community.

President Goodluck Jonathan was, however, absent.

Sanusi was appointed the 14th Emir of Kano on June 8, 2014 after the death of Alhaji Ado Bayero, on June 6, 2014.

At the ceremony held at the newly constructed Coronation Hall at the Government House, Kwankwaso described the Emir as a knowledgeable person who acquired both the Islamic and western education.”

He said the appointment of Sanusi was based on his personal track record of service and education, which are important prerequisites.

Jega’s speech on poll timetable

Professor Attahiru M. Jega, OFR

 
STATEMENT ON THE TIMETABLE FOR 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS BY THE CHAIRMAN, INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC), PROFESSOR ATTAHIRU M. JEGA, AT A PRESS CONFERENCE ON FEBRUARY 07th, 2015

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction
We invited you here today to make known the position of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the timetable for the 2015 general elections. Let me state from the outset that the Commission’s position was reached after carefully weighing the suggestions from briefings held with different stakeholders in the electoral process.

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The conduct of elections in a country like Nigeria is invariably a collective venture that involves not just the Election Management Body (EMB), but also a diverse range of stakeholders, notably security agencies, political parties and their candidates, voters, as well as interest groups, such as the civil society organizations and the media. To guarantee successful conduct of elections, there are things that are wholly the responsibility of the EMB. But there are other things critical for the success of elections, which fall outside the control of the EMB.

In other words, while INEC must work hard to perfect its systems and processes for conducting elections, and take responsibility for any imperfections thereof, whatever the Commission does may not by itself be sufficient to guarantee the success of elections. There are a number of issues in the preparation and conduct of an election, the most critical of which is security, which is not under the control of INEC.


Current State of INEC’s Preparedness
On Thursday, February 5, 2015, I was invited to brief the National Council of State, which is the highest advisory to the President comprising past and present leaders in Nigeria, on the level of preparedness of INEC to conduct the 2015 general elections. I made a presentation to the Council titled ‘Preparations for the 2015 General Elections: Progress Report,’ in which I gave a detailed account of what the Commission has been doing in readiness for the national elections (National Assembly and Presidential) scheduled for February 14th, and the state elections (Governorship and State Assembly) scheduled forFebruary 28th, 2015.

The summary of my presentation to the National Council of State meeting is that, for matters under its control,  INEC is substantially ready for the general elections as scheduled, despite discernible challenges being encountered with some of its processes like the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) by registered members of the public.


In addition, INEC has been doing everything it can to facilitate the collection of the PVCs by registered members of the public. As at 5th February 2015, the total number of PVCs collected was 45, 829, 808, representing 66.58% of the total number of registered voters.

In the delivery and deployment of electoral materials, INEC is also at a comfort level in its readiness for the general elections as scheduled (see the presentation to the Council of State). The Commission’s preparations are not yet perfect or fully accomplished. But our level of preparedness, despite a few challenges, is sufficient to conduct free, fair and credible elections as scheduled on February 14th and February 28th. Compared with 2011 when, within a short time, we conducted general elections that were universally adjudged free, fair and credible and the best in Nigeria’s recent electoral history, our processes aretoday better refined, more robust and therefore capable of delivering even better elections.


Other Variables
But as I mentioned earlier, there are some other variables equally crucial for successful conduct of the 2015 general elections that are outside the control of INEC. One important variable is security for the elections.

While the Commission has a very good working relationship with all security agencies, especially on the platform of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) since its inception in 2010, it has become pertinent for it to seriously consider the security advisory presented to it by the Security and Intelligence Services. I would like to reiterate here that INEC is an EMB and not a security agency. It relies on the security services to provide a safe environment for personnel, voters, election observers and election materials to conduct elections wherever it deploys. Where the security services strongly advise otherwise, it would be unconscionable of the Commission to deploy personnel and call voters out in such a situation.

Last Wednesday, which was a day before the Council of State meeting, the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) wrote a letter to the Commission, drawing attention to recent developments in four Northeast states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Gombe currently experiencing the challenge of insurgency. The letter stated that security could not be guaranteed during the proposed period in February for the general elections.

This advisory was reinforced at the Council of State meeting on Thursday where the NSA and all the Armed Services and Intelligence Chiefs unanimously reiterated that the safety and security of our operations cannot be guaranteed, and that the Security Services needed at least six weeks within which to conclude a major military operation against the insurgency in the Northeast; and that during this operation, the military will be concentrating its attention in the theatre of operations such that they may not be able to provide the traditional support they render to the Police and other agencies during elections.


INEC’s Decision
We have done wide ranging consultation to enable us have as much input as is necessary before taking an informed decision. In the series of consultations that we held with stakeholders, the questions consistently posed to them for consideration are:
In view of the latest development, should INEC proceed with the conduct of the general elections as scheduled in spite of this strong advice; and if so, what alternative security arrangements are available to be put in place?
Or, should INEC take the advice and adjust the schedules of the general elections within the framework of Constitutional provisions?

The Commission held a meeting after the consultations, and decided to take the advice of the Security Chiefs and adjust the dates of the elections. We have done this relying on Section 26(1) of the Electoral 2010 (As Amended), which states thus: “Where a date has been appointed for the holding of an election, and there is reason to believe that a serious breach of the peace is likely to occur if the election is proceeded with on that date or it is impossible to conduct the elections as a result of natural disasters or other emergencies, the Commission may postpone the election and shall in respect of the area, or areas concerned, appoint another date for the holding of the postponed election, provided that such reason for the postponement is cogent and verifiable”.

INEC not being a security agency that could by itself guarantee protection for personnel and materials, as well as voters during elections, the Commission cannot lightly wave off the advice by the nation’s Security Chiefs. The Commission is specifically concerned about the security of our ad hoc staff who constitute at least 600,000 young men and women, together with our regular staff, voters, election observers as well as election materials painstakingly acquired over the last one and half years. This concern is limited not just to the areas in the North-eastern part of Nigeria experiencing insurgency; the risk of deploying young men and women and calling people to exercise their democratic rights in a situation where their security cannot be guaranteed is a most onerous responsibility. Under such circumstances, few EMBs across the world, if any, would contemplate proceeding with the elections as scheduled. No matter the extent of INEC’s preparedness, therefore, if the security of personnel, voters, election observers and election materials cannot be guaranteed, the life of innocent young men and women as well the prospects of free, fair, credible and peaceful elections would be greatly jeopardised.


Consequently, the Commission has decided to reschedule the 2015 general elections thus: the national elections (i.e. Presidential and National Assembly) are now to hold on March 28th, 2015; while the state elections (Governorship and State Assembly) are to hold onApril 11th, 2015. It should be noted that this rescheduling falls within the constitutional framework for the conduct of the elections, notably, Sections 76(2), 116(2), 132(2) and 178(2). See also Section 25 of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended).

For the avoidance of doubt, we will under no circumstances approve an arrangement that is not in line with the provisions of our laws. Our hope is that with this rescheduling, the security services will do their best to ensure that the security environment needed for safe and peaceful conduct of the 2015 elections is rapidly put in place.

We in INEC reassure all Nigerians and indeed the international community of our commitment to do everything within the law and to conduct free, fair, credible and peaceful elections. We call on the security agencies to honour their commitment to restore sufficient normalcy for elections to take place within the period of extension. We also call on Nigerians, political parties, candidates and all other stakeholders to accept this decision in good faith and ensure the maintenance of peace.

As for us in INEC we’ll endeavour to use the period of the extension to keep on perfecting our systems and processes for conducting the best elections in Nigeria’s history. In particular, we believe that we would resolve all outstanding issues related to non-collection of PVCs, which agitate the minds of many Nigerians.

Finally, we wish to call on all Nigerians to accept our decision, which is taken in good faith and the best interest of deepening democracy ion our country.

Thank you.

Professor Attahiru M. Jega, OFR

Chairman

How Fayose, Obanikoro, others used soldiers to rig Ekiti poll — Army Captain

Koli and Fayose

Captain Sagir Koli of the 32nd Artillery Brigade in Ekiti State, who released an audio recording which purportedly has the voice of the then Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Ayo Fayose, in the June 21 governorship election and others meeting on how to allegedly rig the election, on Saturday, insisted the clip was authentic.

In an interview by Sahara TV which was monitored by Rev4mation's World, Koli narrated how soldiers were allegedly deployed in Ekiti to manipulate the poll in favour of the ruling party.

The recording purportedly captured Fayose; Brig.-Gen. Aliyu Momoh, who was in charge of the election; Osun PDP governorship candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore; Minister for Police Affairs, Jelili Adesinyan; and former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, in a meeting where they allegedly gave directives to the military to favour the PDP.

He stated that none of Fayose, Obanikoro and other Peoples Democratic Party leaders could deny being at the meeting.

Fayose, Obanikoro and Omisore however, denied both the meeting and the voices in the audio clip.

The Army captain, who has been on self exile after he released the audio tape, said he was ready to testify against those at the meeting should they file a suit in court.

He also said, “It came as a surprise to us. Three weeks to the election, Brig.-Gen. (Aliyu) Momoh was brought in. When he came, he asked us to work with him. When we entered Ekiti State, we started to see a different thing. The commander said this is his direction and we had to follow him.

“He said he was working for the Presidency. He said it categorically. ‘Look, I’m working for the Presidency and anything I am doing, follow my directions. That was what necessitated the compromise in the election.

“The commander asked all the troops to work with Peoples Democratic Party thugs to make sure that his given assignment was done.”

Koli said he played an advisory role in the election as an intelligence officer. He said there were tactical commanders on ground who covered the 16 local government areas of the state.

“Each local government area was assigned a major or a captain, with soldiers to cover those areas adequately. Those tactical commanders were given specific directives on what to do. The PDP and its teams had what they called ‘contacts’; they were PDP supporters and thugs.

“What the commanders were ordered to do was to work directly with those contacts and make sure that whatever those contacts wanted, they should do it. That was the directive. After giving the directive, we moved round the 16 LGAs to ensure compliance by the tactical commanders,” he said.

He added, “They (security operatives) were assembled at the Forward Operational Base adjacent the Ekiti State Government House. He (Fayose) was given a task force. The task force was composed of military components, the Police, Mobile Police Force and security operatives from the DSS (Department of State Security). They were asked to go and work with the PDP contacts in the 16 LGAs.

“Additionally, a sticker was designed and a hand band. On election days, ordinarily and constitutionally, we restrict movements from 06:00 to 18:00 hours. Those stickers were given to PDP supporters; that anybody or any vehicle seen with that sticker should be allowed unlimited access on the Election Day, and that was what was done.”

Speaking with Rev4mation's World, Adesiyan on Saturday admitted that there was a conversation but it was at a scene in Ado-Ekiti, when Fayose and the General engaged in an altercation which almost resulted in a fight.

He explained that the General was accused of being bribed by Governor Kayode Fayemi and the All Progressives Congress, which led to a heated argument between him (the general) and Fayose.

Adesiyan said, “Nigerians are not dummies. These people are mischievous; somebody recorded the scene but let everybody listen to it. Listen to it yourself and get back to me.

“Fayose accused the General who supervised the Ekiti election of taking bribe from Fayemi and APC, that was two days before the election. They called me because they said the General disarmed policemen and I told him to allow the policemen to do their job.

“I was there, Fayose was there, Otunba Omisore was there, Senator Obanikoro was there. I am not denying that there was a conversation but it was not what they are saying.”

Omisore also debunked the allegation of rigging, saying it was an attempt by the APC to tarnish his image.

The media aide to the Osun PDP governorship candidate, Mr. Victor Oriola, made the denial on his principal’s behalf in a response to Rev4mation's World inquiry on Saturday.

Omisore’s response read in parts, “In order to set the record straight, we say empathically that the offensive YouTube (audio) was unfounded and meant to hoodwink the unwary and portray the PDP and its leaders across the South West in a bad light.

“How did Omisore and those mentioned in the YouTube (audio) rig election when all the stakeholders in Ekiti voted for Fayose? Initially, the APC claimed it was stomach infrastructure that won the people’s mandate for Fayose. When that would not fly, they say it was photo-chromic rigging.

“Now, it is army and police who were coordinated to rig for Fayose, what balderdash!”

Again on Saturday, Fayose dismissed the audio.

His Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, said the governor had no time for frivolities and was more interested in bringing good governance to the people.

He said, “We are not interested in this media hype. If they (APC) have such evidence, they know where to go.

“If you, as a military officer, have such information, is it the opposition that you go to?

“The tribunal is there. They can go to the appeal court and file fresh evidence, if it would work for them.

“All this noise shows they don’t know what they are doing. We are not interested in this trash because the video is a fake. Where is the military officer? Does that Captain Koli exist?

“They should provide evidence that PDP members were given special stickers and hand bands.”

A source close to Obanikoro said on Saturday the former minister would no longer respond to the allegations about his alleged involvement in the rigging of the June 21 Ekiti governorship election which was purportedly recorded on tape.

When one of our correspondents called Obanikoro on the telephone on Saturday, his phone rang out while a text message was not responded to.

Also, a text message and phone call made to his media aide, Ohimai Amaize, were not responded to.

However, the source close to the former minister told our correspondent on the condition of anonymity that Obanikoro was being careful because he had just been nominated as minister by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The source said Obanikoro was to be screened by the Senate on February 16 and the allegation could affect his chances.

Repeated calls made to the Acting Director, Public Relations of the Nigerian Army, Col. Sani Usman, on Saturday were not successful.

The calls to his mobile telephone line did not connect. Also, Sani had yet to respond to a text message sent to him on the issue as of the time of filing this report on Saturday night.

However, an intelligence source said the 15-year old brother of Koli, who was reported to have been tortured by military operatives, had since been released and was not in custody of the Army.

The source said, “I can tell you that the boy is not being detained; he was released long ago. So it is not right to say that he is in custody of the Army.”

It’s an insult on the military to question Buhari’s certificate — Gen. Akinrinade

General Alani Akinrinade (retd.)

A former Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Staff, General Alani Akinrinade (retd.), tells Rev4mation's World that Nigeria may be headed for crisis if the elections are not well managed

You are one of the finest soldiers Nigeria has ever produced. You also fought in the civil war to keep the country as one. Do you have any regrets?

When you have a duty, especially if it is a professional duty, you should be happy each time you are able to discharge your responsibilities creditably. Therefore, to that extent, yes (I feel fulfilled.) We fought a civil war. I will say to the best of my ability, I discharged my duties. But if you look at the reasons why we fought the war, I will say it was an unnecessary war. If I knew at that time what I now know after many years of going around the world, studying history and reading biographies, I just feel it was an unnecessary war. But, unfortunately today, we’re faced with fighting terrorism. That phenomenon is going to dominate the world for the next 50 years, like I said in 2001 in one of my lectures. We are going to be chasing terrorists for the next 50 years if we are not careful. The reason is simply because we ignore why people do the things they do. We dismiss them instead of examining the message carefully and finding answers to it. I think it is rooted in injustice — injustice that breeds poverty in such a big way; that is overwhelming that people become desperate to use any means to vent their frustration and religion is an instrument they use.

Going back to the civil war, we have not attained the peace we were looking for; we have not achieved that unity we sought. We wanted to keep Nigeria united for a purpose. We have not achieved the purpose from what we see now many years after the war — and that is the source of my regret. There is too much of a class struggle in Nigeria. The centre of power in Nigeria is so narrow and they make all the decisions.

How will you assess the state of insecurity in the country and do you think the Multinational Joint Task Force is the solution to the insurgency in the North-East?

The insurgency we are facing in this country is getting more sophisticated and aggravated by the day. The insurgents are beginning to have high morale as if they are achieving something. The state of insecurity in Nigeria is very bad; it is frightening. When Nigeria on the northern border has such countries like Cameroon, Niger and Chad, I don’t think the insurgency we have on our hand now is going to recognise any boundary at all. Boko Haram is looking for territories they can capture; it doesn’t matter whether it is in Nigeria or Cameroon. That’s certainly a reason for everyone to be sitting up and lend a hand to the Nigerian troops. If you remember, the September 11 plot was hatched not in the United States but in a foreign land. Therefore, there is a possibility that if neighbouring countries allow the insurgents to establish an Islamic caliphate, the whole world has a problem to deal with. Evidently, there is a reason for the international community to get really worried. Unfortunately, despite having some combined international forces fighting in Iraq many years ago, that country still remains an unsafe place for people to live. A similar thing is being experienced in Afghanistan; America is still battling with the Taliban. Multinational Joint Task Force is okay but I am not really sure that is the sole solution to the insurgency. I am not sure the MNJTF alone will solve the problem but we need to have all the neighbouring countries in the northern border to wake up and start doing something. I think it’s a very good idea but there are still limitations to such endeavours.

Nigeria boasts of probably the best troops in sub-Saharan Africa but the troops seem incapable of dislodging Boko Haram insurgents. Where does the problem lie?

Perhaps, it is rooted in the trend of development in the Army itself when they went into governance and coups started happening. Even within the coups, there were coups and there were people shot and murdered trying to attempt a coup. With a situation like that, the esprit de corps of the military has been eroded. I think we lost that esprit de corps gradually since the day the military started engaging in coups. That’s one aspect. Second, our governments didn’t have proper ministers of defence, who represent the political class, the political system and the professional soldiers. They are removed in quick successions, thereby destroying the military institution. There were periods when no development really took place.

In the case of arms, ammunitions and equipment to match what is happening in the world, we didn’t pay enough attention to that. I also think that soldiers are humans; they live with us and they have the same kind of connections that all of us have within the society. They need to be encouraged. I heard an officer say that all over the world soldiers buy uniforms for themselves. That is not true. There is no country in the world that will send its soldiers to war and be expecting them to buy uniforms with their own money. If it gets to that point, then we are beginning to lose the grip on our soldiers.

Do you see anything wrong in the use of the Civilian Joint Task Force in military operations against Boko Haram?

Even during the civil war, we needed the help of the civilians because they knew the terrains better than what the map was telling us. They also knew some of idiosyncrasies of the population there, helping us to know how to handle them. But we didn’t organise them into a force. If you arm a man and afterwards he is hungry, he will use the weapon to find something to eat. Boko Haram also was supposed to have started that way except that religion was part of it — where a governor was alleged to have used some people as thugs, though organised, and he abandoned them. They also abandoned him and turned on the people, the police and the nation. Though that danger is there for the civilian JTF to become a menace, it is not unusual to use civilians to help the military in terms of intelligence gathering. It is easier to send someone who is not a soldier around the enemy line, who is part of the population whom they know.

Nobody knew the depth to which they could go simply because we don’t have a police force within the people. That’s one problem and that’s why the military now need an organised civilian JTF. But if the soldiers cannot face the guns of the insurgents, how do you expect people carrying bows, arrows and some dane guns to be effective? Beyond using them for gathering information, and assisting the military in carrying out some logistic duties, they can’t be any more effective. We are on dangerous grounds, more so when we now have elections around the corner; they may be available to unscrupulous politicians.

The court marshalling of soldiers accused of mutiny in the current fight against Boko Haram has been described by some people as ill-timed. Some say it should have been done secretly not to demoralise other soldiers on the war front. What do you think?

We have to be very careful. We are in a democracy and there is freedom of information. Democracy thrives on information being freely available; it will be difficult to defend in the future if the military went into the barracks and secretly court marshal people on matters of life and death — in which case they can be sentenced to death. That can be very dangerous. Maybe in military era, you can do that. But in this democracy, all of us have the responsibility to demand for an open book so that we know exactly what is going on. It’s a lesson for all of us. Be that as it may, there is no good time or bad time of disciplining soldiers. I think what we should worry about is the frequency and the magnitude of it. When the country has a hundred soldiers, including officers, being court -marshalled at the same time, we should start asking ourselves questions. Are we really going down slope to the extent that we will not able to retrieve these things if we just apply the simple law? It’s unlawful to demonstrate in the army. Yet, I don’t think it is enough to rely on the law to discipline erring soldiers in this case. We need to ask why. I tell myself that if these (mutinies by soldiers) happened under my watch, I will court marshal all the officers. I will disband the units because soldiers cannot under these circumstances do anything on their own. Therefore, the senior officers must have done something wrong. We should find out exactly what it is. The soldiers gave all sorts of reasons — that they were badly equipped and that they didn’t have food. We suggest to the armed forces to look deeper into the reasons these things are happening. Using ordinary complaints about equipment not being good enough to fight the war does not entail discipline. The military authorities, particularly the civilian authorities, have a primary responsibility to critically consider this issue and find out exactly why the soldiers acted the way they did.

Some people are agitating for the postponement of the general elections. How do you see the call for poll shift or otherwise?

Those using the security situation as a reason for poll shift owe us answers on when it will be conducive to conduct the general elections. When is the situation going to be better than now? Before we can debate this, they must advance what will happen if the elections are held at the scheduled time. I haven’t seen or heard anyone oblige us with those arguments. I have a feeling that this situation that we are in is not going to change for a very long time. If elections could be held in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, we will have to think again; if really we want democracy or we want something else. I know there are cases in court concerning the election. I think the most annoying one is the case about (Muhammadu) Buhari not having a certificate.

Why is it annoying?

It is an insult to the armed forces — a terrible insult to the armed forces. If they are so embedded in the system and they have lost their souls, then they can go ahead and join everybody else in castigating a General of Buhari’s calibre. They are now talking about a school certificate. What is that? By the time he joined the army, in those days, there were no cutting corners. It is later when these same civilians took over from the army that admission into it became less transparent. I can give you an instance. There was Course Five around 1964: if one did not have a school certificate one couldn’t apply to join the army. And I know up to 1963 when the last General Officer Commanding left Nigeria, there were no corners to be cut. There was no such thing. Everything was on merit. And, that was how it was till Buhari’s time. Buhari attended the Mons (Officer Cadet School in Aldershot in England) and the Staff College; I don’t want to think they have an idea what they teach in those places. And the rest of us pretend as if we don’t know what they do there. You send a man to America for one and a half years in a military school. Do they think he just went there to learn how to fire a rifle? No.

But why is it difficult for Buhari to produce the original copy of the certificate?

He did. As I speak to you, I don’t know where my original certificate is because we gave the original to the Military Board. They took it from us when we applied to join the Army. You give the original copy of credential to the board. They take it and keep it in your file, that’s what happened. How many years ago? 50 years. And Nigeria with our (poor) record-keeping and filing things into an archive -if we have an archive at all; an archive inhabited by rats and cockroaches. I think it’s an insult. I take it as a personal insult.

You feel the general elections should go ahead?

Yes. That is what the constitution says. Let the election hold and let’s see in how many places people cannot vote before we start this hue and cry. We’re back to 1993. They took us back all the way to 1993. We have seen this before. I am unhappy that (Pastor Tunde) Bakare was ever part of it (call for poll shift) because he is a great fellow of mine. They see a difficult situation instead of going head on to confront it, Nigeria wants to take a path that leads to nowhere to only perdition. We have been on this route before and we know the result. Why do we think this current situation is going to end up differently? The danger in this one is that we have been hearing of a possible disintegration in Nigeria; not from outside the country but within. It was a subject (disintegration) at the National Conference. I was there. We are driving ourselves towards that route. The result may not be very palatable. What is more, we have created so many warlords all over Nigeria. There are private armies around the whole place.

Will you encourage the call for the international community like the European Union, African Union, and the United Kingdom to prevail on the Federal Government not to postpone the February 14 elections just as the United States recently did?

For people who are democrats, exactly what America said is what they are going to say. We did this (presidential election) four years ago where they swore in President Jonathan and four years after we are going to have another election. This is not the time to start swaying about like lilies in the wind. They can’t do much more than they have done; to warn us and also to send election observers. I hear a lot of them already have observers in the country, which should be at a great cost to them. Therefore, what else do we want from these people? We must think of ourselves as being very much devalued and we earned it — we deserve it. The international community has done its bit. It is also disturbing that up till now we still need policemen to be standing by polling booths before we can even be sure we can vote. If we are expecting much more from the developed world, we are wasting our time. A few things have changed since 1993 that can make the situation worse now, if we are stupid enough not to have an election. We might realise that the world is not so enamoured with us. Perhaps, they are angry with us because we have made a very bad specimen of a country in a developing world. We’re not even developing because we’re still very backward.

Buhari has been portrayed as being an honest man. Do you think being an honest man is enough for someone to rule Nigeria?

It is not enough but it is the first thing in the order in which I would put the qualities of a Nigerian leader. Considering where we find ourselves today, honesty is the first quality a man should have. The people should trust a leader to the point that his words are taken as a bond. If it is your worry that is honesty enough, I will say yes it is enough. The next one is wisdom so that the leader is able to get people who will do the work for him.

Jonathan seems to be the most criticised President the country has ever produced. Do you think he deserves the criticisms?

I will just say he earned the criticisms. There is no smoke without fire. If fish wants to rot, it starts from the head. The market, women know that when they go to the market they open the gill. If it is green inside, the fish is rotten. Even if he didn’t personally commit all the offences levelled against him, he’s still responsible. He is the President. He can ensure that justice is done where there are infractions committed by people under his watch. He shouldn’t allow impunity to thrive.

Recently, Niger Delta militants threatened to go to war if Jonathan loses his re-election bid. What do you make of that?

I know only one of the militants but I don’t think he was old enough to really talk about what happened during the civil war. They must also remember, especially the ethnic militias in the Niger Delta area, that the war went through their places too. They got away very lightly then simply because it was the area we wanted to carve out of the jurisdiction of (Emeka) Ojukwu. First, they were the minorities and they didn’t sign an agreement that said they wanted to form part of Biafra. As a result, the rest of us were under obligation to protect the minorities. The war was also fought in their territories. If they were old enough they would see the misery even though they didn’t suffer ten per cent of what the East-Central, the present South-East went through. They are giving wrong reasons to keep their son in the Presidency. It’s a filthy reason. It doesn’t show they understand what democracy is all about. Nigerians are not going to vote under duress. Politics is a game of numbers. The one we refused to do in 1993, we have not come out of it. We’re going through the same cycle. I don’t think they lived at that time. I don’t think even the politicians today were old enough at that time to see exactly the drama that unfolded. It seems to me: we learn very little from our past. What we are risking is a complete disintegration of our country. Thereafter, we will blame America for predicting the doom staring us in the face. In 2010, John Campbell wrote in his book what could lead Nigeria into a bigger trouble. Is that not what is happening now?

North rejects election postponement

INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega

Prominent northern groups and individuals on Friday opposed calls for the postponement of the forthcoming general elections while they also vowed to resist any attempt by the Federal Government to sack Professor Attahiru Jega as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

In separate interviews with Rev4mation"s World, those who spoke lambasted the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly led by Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, for seeking the postponement of the polls.

They also condemned the Assembly’s call for the sacking and arrest of Jega for allegedly conniving with northern leaders to rig President Goodluck Jonathan out of office.

The SNPA, at a press conference on Thursday, threatened that elections would not hold in the southern part of the country should the commission decide to go ahead with the exercise as scheduled.

However, the apex northern socio-political group, Arewa Consultative Forum, said it might be forced to push for a boycott of the elections in the North if it was shifted.

A National Executive Council member of the ACF, Mohammed Abdulrahman, said, “Any attempt by the Federal Government, colluding with the PDP, to postpone the elections or sack Prof. Attahiru Jega and replace him with a pliant alternative will only increase the challenges this current administration under President Jonathan is facing.

“The North may boycott the election if it is shifted. Jega has said it several times that INEC is ready to conduct the elections.”

Corroborating Abdulrahman, the past National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Mr. Anthony Sani, warned Nigerians not to rule out the possibility of the removal of Jega, just as the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (now the Emir of Kano), Lamido Sanusi, was removed from office.

Sani said, “When they say Prof. Jega should be sacked because there have been allegations that there is connivance between INEC and northerners to rig President Jonathan out of office, I begin to wonder how northerners, who bring up the rear in almost everything under the sun, would be able to outsmart the South in that regard.”

Similarly, the NEF on Friday said it was surprised that the Presidency had become jittery over the elections.

The Deputy Chairman of the Maitama Sule-led forum, Dr. Paul Unongo, said the INEC Chairman supervised the 2011 election and declared Jonathan the winner and Buhari the loser despite that Jega is of northern origin like the latter.

He also queried why the PDP and the Presidency had not called for the postponement of the elections since INEC made the time-table public over one year ago.

Similarly, the National Coordinator, Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, described as “insidious and self-serving” the southern leaders’ call for Jega’s resignation.

He stated that Jega could not be forcefully removed, as the Electoral Law was clear on his appointment.

“Even the National Assembly cannot remove him without two-thirds majority. The President has no power to remove him and he cannot try what he tried with (former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor) Lamido Sanusi by saying they are suspending him. He has no right to even suspend him,” Mohammed stated.

In the same vein, the National President, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, Mr. Yerima Shettima, said calls for poll postponement were strange.

He said, “If INEC says it is prepared, then the Federal Government should allow the commission to go ahead with the elections. Let us remember that whoever triggers any tension does so at the expense of the entire nation.

Similarly, the Tanko Yakassai-led Northern Elders Counci said no one could sack Jega apart from the National Assembly.

Yakassai said, “They had better read the constitution; Jega can only resign on his own. The provision in the constitution for the removal of the chairman of the commission is clear. The Senate can begin the process, but they cannot tell him to resign.

Meanwhile, the British High Commission told Rev4mation"s World on Friday that it was in support of credible elections in Nigeria. The High Commission’s press officer, Edward Dunn, said it was willing to work with the Federal Government to achieve this.

He said, “We welcome the recent signing of the Abuja Accord and other similar commitments around the country. We call on all political parties, security forces and other actors to do everything possible to ensure Nigerians are able to exercise their democratic rights, free from the threat of violence.”

I’m shaped like a mermaid —Miss K

Karina Theresa

Background

My name is Karina Theresa but I prefer to be called Miss K. It’s my stage name and it’s easier to pronounce. My mother is a Spaniard and my father is from the Caribbean. I was born in France but I live in the United Kingdom.

Music

I fell in love with music at a young age. My style of music is R ‘n’ B, influenced by the hip hop sounds of America and Caribbean beats of the West Indies.

Modelling

Being a model allows me think outside the box, push boundaries, and enables me come up with creative concepts. I love modelling because it is just as tasking as it is rewarding. Whether it is runway modelling or a fashion photoshoot, I get excited. I’m proud to have won my most recent title, from the International Achievers Awards where I was voted Miss Curves 2014.

Current projects

I plan to release my first single. It’s a song for charity that will echo the love I have for Africa and Africans. The single is titled Stand up for Afrika. Lovers of the world music, Afrobeat, hip hop and funky beats will appreciate it.

My personality

I am like a jigsaw puzzle. You have to be able to decode my personality. A lot of people take wild guesses that often don’t correspond with who I am.

Silhouette

I am fearfully and wonderfully made by God just like any other person. He granted me these curves and I am not going to let it waste. I believe in empowering women and girls. I want them to believe in their abilities and take control of their lives. Beauty does not lie in being curvaceous and it will only take you where your character can keep you. You need to be confident to get on in life. I tell people they can look good in anything, if they really want to. I want to succeed in life and achieve great things. I am a confident woman and I like to step out of my comfort zone because it encourages me to try new things.

Achievements

I was the first Afro-Caribbean personality to feature in an MTN campaign. I featured prominently on their billboard adverts in 2009. I considered that to be a giant stride in my career. The experience boosted my confidence because such opportunities are rare.

For me, it has never been about money but achieving something new and interesting.

Men

For now, I am not seeing anybody. I am in a relationship with myself. I work hard, focus on my creative visions and projects so I can succeed.

Would I like to be in a relationship? Yes, if the right man comes my way

Marriage

Marriage is a sacred institution. You have to careful and have a discerning mind before attempting marriage. If it’s not properly considered, it can have disastrous effects on the coupled. One day, Mr. Right will walk me down the aisle and I will have children. I know I will have a big wedding.

Scandals

There were rumours that I had some form of cosmetic surgery done on my body. The rumours were brought about by some pictures I took. My body is real. I have never visited a plastic surgeon but I am not against it. I can’t tell what would happen when I turn 50. I might decide to have some work done on my body. God has been good to me and shaped me like a real mermaid. I have the right curves at the right places.

Beauty regimen

I love to swim because it helps keep my curves in shape. I drink water all day and I love my beauty sleep.

Passion

Charity work is one of the foremost commitments that I feel I have towards humanity. Making impact in other people’s lives is very important, whether by the donation of goods and or by offering my time for doing anything in kind. To help develop mankind is the most important thing to me, more than money. Money is essential to better any community development, but I believe that sometimes having a physical input in helping means more than anything in the world to some people.

PDP scuttled presidential debates — Maduekwe

Head of Media, Buhari Support Organisation, Dr. Chida Maduekwe

Dr. Chida Maduekwe, the Head of Media, Buhari Support Organisation, a campaign group of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, in this interview with TOBI AWORINDE, accuses the Peoples Democratic Party of evading a transparent presidential debate

The All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadi Buhari, has boycotted two debates now. Is he scared to go head-to-head with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, as has been alleged?

Buhari is not scared to debate with Jonathan. The PDP is the one running away from debates. Political debates are not an along-the-road, knee-jerk, reflex action. It was in 1858 that the United States last used that pattern, when Abraham Lincoln challenged (Senator Stephen) Douglas to a debate on slavery. We are no more in 1858. Today, the US has the Commission on Presidential Debates. The commission is in charge of national debates and it is therefore non-partisan. The Democratic Party and the Republican Party came together to form it.

In Nigeria last year, during the Electoral Act amendment, when a motion was made that the Independent National Electoral Commission should be empowered to conduct presidential debates, the PDP-led National Assembly threw it out. They did so because, in line with their attitude to run away from debates, they didn’t want the President to appear for debates. In this country, right from the time we came back into democracy—in particular, from 2003 to 2011—the PDP has refused to participate in any independent, neutral, credible platform of presidential debates. But Buhari has offered himself three times during the same period.

Is your party calling to question the credibility of the organisers?

The Nigeria Elections Debate Group is made up of employees of government, and you cannot expect an employee to superintend a debate that will make him responsible for his employer’s removal from office. It doesn’t happen. In essence, it is not a level playing field; it is a mischievous platform. These are people paid by government; you do not expect them to deliver to the Nigerian people what they should.

The second debate is a reflex action and you do not expect my principal, who believes in specific, credible platforms, to go along with a reflex action. We have made our point. If the PDP does not want a debate to hold by scuttling it at the National Assembly, then it is to blame.

Let me cite the example of South Africa. The only (presidential) debate held in South Africa was the one that Nelson Mandela had with FW de Klerk. Even at that, it was organised by the African National Congress and the ruling National Party. They both agreed on the template and the methodology of that debate. No individual journalist or non-governmental organisation just comes up to say they want to conduct presidential debates. It is the parties that are involved that agree to set up the methods that these debates are going to follow. They agree on it ab initio before they go in. You don’t just gather them together and say, ‘Start debating.’

Nigeria is supposed to be evolving; we are supposed to be improving on our democratic culture. But because the PDP remains resolute in the continuity of a rotten agenda filled with defamation of character and civil society principles, they don’t want to play by the rules. They rather would like to cast all kinds of aspersion on Buhari, which will not stand.

But the PDP claims your party has something to hide by refusing to participate in a debate.

My principal is not against debates; he is not averse to meeting with members of the fourth estate of the realm, the civil society or any group of Nigerians. Yesterday (Monday), he had a meeting with the business community in Lagos State. Today, he is in Kano State, holding town hall meetings and answering questions without any hanky-panky or hidden agenda. The day after tomorrow, he will be in Ibadan to meet with students and youth leaders. He will also be in Enugu. That is the way he has chosen.

In corrupt, Third World countries, where incumbents find it difficult to have a free and fair election, there are three pillars of incumbency that make government hold on to power: control of the security apparatuses of state, control of the treasury of the state, and control of the mass media. They use their control to suffocate the opposition and push them into a situation that will not be in tandem with the core values and principles they are pursuing.

A member of the PDP campaign team, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, described Buhari as intellectually lazy and unable to withstand a debate with Jonathan without the support of his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. Is this true?

People are knowledgeable about Fani-Kayode. He is a man that lacks integrity. We are speaking facts and figures here. This is a man who didn’t have anything to say but to abuse and insult our dear sister, Bianca Ojukwu. When the young lady decided to face him, we saw how cowardly he withdrew and tendered his apology. Today, Fani-Kayode is speaking for the PDP.

This is the same man who said the PDP is dead and gone; that the party had no place in history because the APC was a moving progressive train that had come to sweep them out of power. Today, he is the mouthpiece of the PDP. How can you accept him as someone credible? There is no basis to allude to anything that has been said by the PDP through Fani-Kayode as having any iota of truth. Gen. Buhari has been campaigning, visiting two states, something Jonathan has not been able to do. It is this same man that they say is not strong enough to lead a debate.

Moreover, there is synergy in the combination of presidential and vice-presidential candidates. That is why (US President Barack) Obama chose Joe Biden, who is much older and had been in the system for over 30 years. When choosing a vice-presidential candidate, is there anything wrong in looking for somebody whose strengths will complement yours? They (PDP) are simply angry that we got the best vice-presidential candidate that any Nigerian can ever have.

Inside story: Brains behind poll shift

Top: President Jonathan; NSA, Dasuki; and Defence Chief, Badeh. Bottom: PDP Chair, Mua’zu; Air Chief, Amosu; and Clark.

Pressure mounted by President Goodluck Jonathan’s loyalists and service chiefs on the Independent National Electoral Commission led to the postponement of the 2015 general elections, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.

The polls were billed for February 14 (presidential and National Assembly) and February 28 (governorship and House of Assembly).

Jonathan, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, is contesting against retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress and 12 other candidates at the presidential poll.

Those who pushed for the postponement, despite the opposition from the All Progressives Congress and many Nigerians, include the Presidency; the Peoples Democratic Party Jonathan’s loyalists; the National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki; the Chiefs of Defence, Army, Naval and Air Staff, among others.

Two weeks ago, Dasuki, while speaking at a forum at the Chatham House in London, asked INEC to postpone the elections, saying the shift would allow for proper preparations and distribution of PVCs by the electoral body.

In an apparent reaction to Dasuki’s call, the United States had on January 25, 2015, advised Nigeria against postponing the elections.

The US Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, gave the advice after he met with Jonathan and Buhari.

Kerry urged the Federal Government not to postpone the elections as canvassed by Dasuki.

Army Chief, Minimah

However, the military chiefs wrote to Jega, informing him of the security implication of holding the elections in February as earlier scheduled. This, it was learnt, what part of what influenced shifting of the polls.

Before the INEC chairman announced the new dates for the elections, the commission had insisted that the presidential and National Assembly elections be held on February 14, while the governorship and states House of Assembly election be held two weeks later.

Jega, however, changed the dates of the elections at a press conference he addressed at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Saturday. He repeatedly held the NSA and security chiefs responsible for the shift.

The press conference came up after he met with representatives of all registered political parties.

Jega was said to have on Saturday told the leaders of the parties, his officers and the civil society groups that the commission was ready for the election as planned, but that he was worried because of the claim by the security agencies that they would not be able to protect members of the staff of the commission and the electorates.

Sixteen political parties led by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party were said to have favoured the shifting of the elections, while nine others led by the opposition All Progressives Congress were against the move.

Jega also had a marathon meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners of all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Naval Chief, Jibrin

At the meetings, Jega was said to have told the attendees that he had received a letter from service chiefs advising that he should postpone the general elections on the grounds that the security agencies were engaged in a renewed battle against insurgency in the North-East.

This, they claimed, would require their full concentration.

In the letter, it was gathered that the security agencies were demanding a rescheduling of elections by, at least, six weeks.

He also told the leaders of the political parties and the Resident Electoral Commissioners that he received a letter on Wednesday from the NSA, informing him that it would be difficult for the security agencies to protect the electorates during the election.

The Council of State had on Thursday rose from a seven-hour meeting, advising the INEC to conduct the elections.

Jega was quoted to have told the council that the commission was ready for the conduct of the election but the military chiefs were quoted to have said they could not guarantee the security of electoral officers, materials and the electorate should the commission go ahead with the earlier schedule.

Same Thursday, Jonathan’s supporters under the aegis of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly led by Ijaw leader and ex-Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, called for the postponement of the polls.

The group, at a press conference, pressed further by asking for the sacking Chairman, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, and his arrest for allegedly conniving with some northerners to manipulate the presidential election against Jonathan.

Those in attendance included a former Vice-President, Alex Ekwueme, ex-Minister of Information, Walter Ofonagoro; ex-Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife; Peoples Democratic Party’s National Vice-Chairman (South-South), Dr. Cairo Ojugboh, and the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee of the recently held national confab, Senator Femi Okurounmu, among others.

Okurounmu, who read a prepared speech jointly signed by him, Clark and Ekwueme on behalf of the group, said the alleged connivance with the Northern Elders Forum was responsible for the near 100 per cent collection of Permanent Voter Cards in the North.

The PDP has also repeatedly called for a shift of the polls in the past two weeks.

An INEC National Commissioner, who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH under anonymity after the Saturday meetings, said it was better for the commission to shift the elections in order to protect the integrity of their outcome and those that would take part in the conduct of the elections.

He said, “You needed to be at the meeting and see the mood of Jega. He was not happy because his integrity was at stake and because these same service chiefs had earlier given their words that they were ready.

“Now, if he didn’t listen to their advice, these same security agencies could create scenes (problems) for the elections. They could sabotage the distribution of sensitive materials.

“Apart from that, they could also refuse to provide security for those involved in the elections and could also sabotage the movement of sensitive materials.”

The source said almost everyone in the country was aware that the PDP-led Federal Government was not ready for the elections.

“If the Federal Government that is funding the security agencies and appointed their heads is not ready for elections, how do you compel their heads who are all appointees of the same government to say they are ready,” another INEC National Commissioner asked.